Highway 89 reopens near Emerald Bay after crews clear snow

Highway 89 in Lake Tahoe’s Emerald Bay area reopened to traffic Tuesday evening after being closed for two weeks due to heavy snow.

The California Department of Transportation announced shortly before 7 p.m. that crews had finished clearing the 4-mile stretch of the highway on either side of Emerald Bay. Some sections had been buried in up to 30 feet of snow and Caltrans workers had to wait for an extended period of dry weather to safely clear the snow and debris.

During the closure, motorists traveling between the south shore of Lake Tahoe and the north or west shore had to use Highway 50 or Highway 28.